After inspiring months of buildup, piles of tourist dollars and enough news stories to drown an elephant in ink, the Solar Eclipse of 2017 came and went on Monday.

Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Carbondale, Illinois, were two of several locales in the path of totality that saw swarms of visitors. Evansville wasn’t that lucky. Our 99 percent coverage just gave the light a sepia shade and freaked out a few dogs.

That’ll change in 2024. The path of totality will sweep right through our city that April, presenting Evansville with hordes of opportunities for learning and community fellowship while we stare into the heavens, awed by the impossible beauty of nature.

More importantly, we could make a lot of money. Here are some schemes the city should employ seven years from now.

Branding

Local officials love coming up with slogans: “Strong City;” “E is for Everyone;” and the less successful “Evansville: All the Busch Light You Can Drink.”

And we’d be fools in 2024 if we didn’t exploit an old city nickname for monetary gain: “Crescent City.”

Print t-shirts with that slogan under an image of a partial eclipse. You know, because the moon will look like a crescent. Of course in totality, it won't look like a crescent -- and that's kind of the whole point isn't it?

Let's not overthink it. People will be so drunk on celestial wonder that they'll buy anything you shove in their faces. If we get desperate, we could even resort to "E for Eclipse."

Since I came up with the idea, I demand 50 percent of the profits. I’d rather not get into why I need the money. Let’s just say it wasn’t smart to take 50-1 odds on President Martin O’Malley.

Price gouging

On the day of the eclipse, slap some road signs up at the city limits: No outside food or drink.

Visitors will flood area businesses, desperate for sustenance. Want a bottle of water? No problem. That’ll be $15.

Scare tactics

There’s a theory among paranormal investigators that the moon affects ghostly activity.

“People start to act a little crazier around the time of the full moon,” Joe Weigant with Evansville Paranormal Investigations told me last week. “Also paranormal activity does pick up during the time of the full moon. I can't even imagine what kind of effect it could have with the moon and blotting out the sun for 2 and 1/2 minutes. But it would be interesting to find out.”

So let’s find out. We could charge amateur ghost hunters for the right to spend the eclipse in the bowels of Willard Library, waiting to see if it draws out the famed Grey Lady.

They'll miss the eclipse, of course. Because they're locked in a basement. But hey: ghosts, man.

Be nice

Or we could just welcome any and all tourists and make them feel at home. Their enjoyment will make it more likely that they stick around longer, or even come back for a repeat visit.